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Garth Cooper, Professor of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Auckland’s School of Biological Sciences, and a founding Principal Investigator of the Maurice Wilkins Centre, was recently conferred a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree by the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford in the UK.

The Oxford DSc is awarded following an extensive independent examination of a supplicant’s scholarly output throughout their career. For Professor Cooper, this involved more than 200 publications reflecting more than 30 years of continuous effort – mainly in the area of diabetes and metabolic disease.

“It’s a formal examination of your life’s work,” said Professor Cooper. “That is an opportunity because it gives you a chance to determine whether what you’ve done throughout your career is independently judged to be of a sufficiently high standard.”

“The Medical Sciences Division at Oxford University gives only 2 to 3 of these degrees a year. So I guess the issue is one of peer recognition really. I think it’s also good for the University of Auckland and the Faculty here, as an independent indicator of quality.”

Professor Cooper’s DSc was conferred by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford during a Degree Ceremony held on 28 July in the stunningly beautiful Sheldonian Theatre. Designed by Christopher Wren, the construction of this historic building was completed in 1669.

Professor Cooper receiving a DSc during a ceremony at the University of Oxford on 28 July.

In addition to his position at the University of Auckland, Professor Cooper is also Professor of Discovery and Experimental Medicine at the University of Manchester, and holds appointments at the University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou.